A machine for cutting threaded rods is shown, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 06-297232, published on Oct. 25, 1994, which is incorporated by reference. This threaded rod cutting machine includes a fixed die with a cutting edge 15 and a moveable die with the cutting edge 21 coupled to a swinging member 23. Rotation of a motor 3 causes a rotation of a cam 19 and the swinging member 23 in a clockwise direction to cause the cutting edges 15, 21 to cut a threaded rod 33 by a shearing action. The motor 3 continues to rotate even after the rod is cut, and a pin 19 of the cam 19 engages with a first arm part 23 of a return plate 27 to forcibly rotate the swinging member. This causes the moveable cutting edge 21 to separate from the fixed cutting edge 15 by the force of a spring 30.
The dies for such a machine are generally removable and replaceable. Each die has a recess for receiving the threaded rod that has a size to match that of the threaded rod. The dies may be interchanged with other dies having different sized recesses for receiving threaded rods of different sizes. The fixed and moveable dies generally are not interchangeable with each other. Rather, the fixed die can only be attached only in the fixed position and the moveable die can only be attached in the moveable position. This requires two unique dies to be manufactured and sold for each size threaded rod to be cut.